How do you pitch a story to Univision/Telemundo vs English-language press?

You pitch Univision and Telemundo on a different angle than English-language press, on a different timeline, with quotes and visuals ready in Spanish — not as a translation step. Spanish-language broadcast networks are not the Spanish version of CNN. The community frame, immigration frame, or Latin America context is often the lead, where English-language press would lead with policy or institutional voices. Pitches need to land 24-48 hours earlier to accommodate B-roll and on-camera coordination cycles, and Spanish-language spokespeople need to be available for live interviews, not just b-roll.

The short answer

• Lead with the community angle. The institutional or policy lead is usually for English-language press.
• Pitch 24-48 hours earlier than the English-language pitch to fit broadcast B-roll cycles.
• Spanish-language spokespeople must be available for live interviews, with quotes and bios already in Spanish.

What this looks like in practice

At SOS Children's Villages, the integrated campaign that doubled the organization's web traffic ran a separate Spanish-language pitch track. The angle for Spanish-language outlets often led with the family-of-origin context, the Latin America-region work, or the diaspora connection — angles that English-language press might cover as a secondary detail. The result: the same story got two different leads, and both leads earned coverage.

The mechanics: pitches to Univision and Telemundo network desks include the bilingual spokesperson's name, role, and Spanish-language bio in the first paragraph of the pitch. B-roll and photo selection are pre-cleared and Spanish-captioned. If the story has a regional Latin America angle, EFE wire is part of the same outreach, with the pitch in Spanish and timing aligned to their wire cycle.

What gets it wrong

The most common failure is sending a translated English pitch with the same angle and expecting the Spanish-language reporter to find the community frame on their own. Reporters don't reframe pitches. They run them or they delete them. A pitch that doesn't lead with the angle they cover gets deleted.

The second failure is offering only English-speaking spokespeople. A Univision news segment running with a clip of an English-speaking executive subtitled into Spanish is a tell that the organization is not actually built for the audience. Bilingual spokespeople available for live interviews in Spanish are part of the pitch, not an afterthought.

"Spanish-language outlets are not a translation step. They are an audience with their own beat reporters, expectations, and timelines."

Where I've done this

• SOS Children's Villages — bilingual integrated campaign earning AP, NBC, CNN, Reuters, and The Atlantic coverage with parallel Spanish-language placements.
• American Red Cross — Spanish-language outlet relationships during disaster response.
• School in the Square — local Spanish-language community press in Washington Heights and Inwood.